onBi-andMultilingualUniversitiesHelsinki,Finland,.pptVIP

International Conference on Bi- and Multilingual Universities Helsinki, Finland, 1-3 September 2005 Multilingual Universities - Observations and Conclusions Chris BrinkRector, Stellenbosch University, South Africa  On Language Policy “Students of language policy fall naturally into two main groups: the optimists who believe management is possible, and the pessimists who assume that language is out of control… The record seems to favour the pessimists...” Bernard Spolsky 2004 Background: Language Study Tour 2004 The University of Ottawa, Canada Bilingual French/English The University of Helsinki, Finland Finnish/Swedish ... English ?bo Akademi, Finland Swedish as minority language The University of Barcelona, Spain Catalan/Spanish The University of Fribourg, Switzerland French/German … English Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium Dutch, after splitting the University in two during the 1960s The “Historically Afrikaans” Universities in South Africa Stellenbosch, Pretoria, Potchefstroom, Free State, Rand Afrikaans Various minglings of Afrikaans/English … African Languages taught Various modes of delivery Conclusions from the tour There’s a strong drift to English Globalisation Anglicisation in mutual feedback loop Ambivalence towards English E.g. European Union Pro “Lingua franca” “Internationalisation” Foreign students Developing world Passport to jobs/opportunities Contra “Killer English” – invasive species Linguistic imperialism / Linguistic colonisation Against sociodiversity Multilingualism comes at a cost Time, energy, money Will the state pay? If not, who should? Often some cultural mandate at work for multilingualism Location and history as powerful influences Conclusions from the tour 2 Two models Protectionist E.g. Leeuven, ?bo Akademi Multiculturalist E.g. Ottawa, Fribourg, Helsinki Different factors at play Size of the language in number of mother-tongue speakers Literacy level